Yan and Figueiredo did battle in a non-title headliner at the Galaxy Arena, and while Figueiredo was competitive throughout, Yan was a cut above the former flyweight king throughout each of the five rounds.
Figueiredo pushed the pace through the first round and managed to take Yan to the mat, but the Russian was able to reverse position and achieve the dominant position before scoring with some solid ground strikes from top position.
That knowledge of the Brazilian’s takedown entries in the opening round proved crucial for Yan in the following rounds as he effectively stuffed Figueiredo’s attempts and punished him with his boxing in the stand-up. Both men seemed happy to stand and trade, but it was Yan whose punches and combinations were more impactful.
That superior striking was even more evident in the third round, as Yan dropped Figueiredo, but the Brazilian was able to recover quickly and avoided being finished. He then put his foot on the gas in the final two rounds in a bid to turn the fight in his favour. But Yan levelled up his output to match and ensured that, whatever Figueiredo did, he did better in a thrilling finale to the contest.
The final scorecards made the bout look like a total shutout, with 50-45 scores submitted by all three judges. But Figueiredo certainly showed enough to demonstrate that he’ll be a real problem for anyone at 135 pounds. Unfortunately for “The God of War,” he found himself against one of the best bantamweights on the planet, as Yan proved that he’s ready for another crack at championship gold, and a rematch with his nemesis Dvalishvili.
“Before my fight, Merab said Deiveson Figueiredo was the number one contender who deserved the title fight,” he said.
“I want to say, Merab, what do you say now, when I beat the number one contender in my division? I want to do the rematch with Merab. Let’s get it!”
Yan Xiaonan strengthens contender status with shutout win
Chinese strawweight contender Yan Xiaonan was determined to put on a dominant display in front of her home fans, and she did exactly that to outclass Brazil’s in-form Tabatha Ricci over three rounds in their co-main event matchup.
Yan dominated the exchanges as she controlled the action on the feet, punishing Ricci whenever she stepped into boxing range. “Nine” kept up a strong pace throughout the three-round battle and scored consistently with strikes to leave Ricci unable to make enough of an impression to claim a single round on the scorecards.
Yan swept the board with scores of 30-27 on all three cards as she bounced back from her UFC 300 title fight loss to champ Zhang Weili. And, with the champion watching from Octagonside, Yan called for a title rematch with her compatriot, who seemed to respond positively to the callout.
‘The King of Kung Fu’ wows crowd with spectacular knockout
Russian striking specialist Muslim Salikhov showed just why he’s called “The King of Kung Fu” as he produced arguably the most spectacular finish of his UFC career with a stunning spinning wheel kick finish of Song Kenan in their welterweight matchup.
Salikhov set his range early and settled into his rhythm, before unleashing a spectacular spinning kick that connected flush on Song’s jaw, knocking him out instantly.
It was one of the most spectacular knockouts we’ve seen in the UFC in 2024, and gave 40-year-old Salikhov, a former Wushu Sanda world champion, a sweet moment in front of the Chinese fans as he celebrated the 21st victory of his mixed martial arts career.
Underdog Fernandes stuns Wang to claim shock finish
There was a huge shock in the women’s flyweight bout between China’s rising star Wang Cong and Brazil’s Gabriella Fernandes, as the Brazilian stunned, then submitted, Wang in the second round of their 125-pound contest.
Wang, who was a colossal 1/10 betting favourite heading into the fight, looked confident and loose as she settled into her work in the opening round. But, after some strong advice in her corner between rounds, Fernandes came out more aggressively in Round 2.
A big hook from Fernandes rocked and dropped Wang, and the Brazilian followed her opponent to the mat, took her back, flattened her out and rendered her unconscious with a rear-naked choke to score a huge victory.
Ulberg outstrikes Oezdemir to continue win streak
Also on the main card, New Zealand’s Carlos Ulberg continued his rise up the light heavyweight ladder with a strong performance and a unanimous decision victory over Swiss former title challenger Volkan Oezdemir.
“Black Jag” was just a little too quick and too slick for Oezdemir over the three rounds as he claimed scores of 30-27, 30-27, 29-28 to extend his win streak to 11.
Best of the rest
The main card kicked off with a first-round TKO, as Zhang Mingyang stopped Ozzy Diaz in less than half a round with a nasty elbow and follow-up strikes to claim his second straight UFC victory and extend his win streak to seven.
There was a stunning head-kick knockout in the women’s strawweight final of the Road to UFC tournament as Shi Ming flattened Feng Xiaocan in the third round of their preliminary card bout.
And, earlier in the night, English flyweight prospect Lone’er Kavanagh got his UFC career off to a winning start with a unanimous decision victory over fellow undefeated newcomer Jose Ochoa.
UFC Macau: Official results
MAIN CARD
- Petr Yan def. Deiveson Figueiredo via unanimous decision (50-45, 50-45, 50-45)
- Yan Xiaonan def. Tabatha Ricci via unanimous decision (30-27, 30-27, 30-27)
- Muslim Salikhov def. Song Kenan via knockout (wheel kick) – Round 1, 3:49
- Gabriella Fernandes def. Wang Cong via technical submission (rear-naked choke) – Round 2, 3:49
- Carlos Ulberg def. Volkan Oezdemir via unanimous decision (30-27, 30-27, 29-28)
- Zhang Mingyang def. Ozzy Diaz via TKO (elbow and punches) – Round 1, 2:25
PRELIMINARY CARD
- You Su-Young def. Baergeng Jieleyisi via unanimous decision (30-27, 30-27, 29-28) – Road to UFC bantamweight tournament final
- Choi Dong-Hun def. Kiru Singh Sahota via knockout (punches) – Round 1, 2:36 – Road to UFC flyweight tournament final
- Shi Ming def. Feng Xiaocan via knockout (head kick) – Round 3, 0:46 – Road to UFC women’s strawweight tournament final
- Carlos Hernandez def. Nyamjargal Tumendemberel via split decision (29-28, 28-29, 29-28)
- Lone’er Kavanagh def. Jose Ochoa via unanimous decision (30-27, 29-28, 29-28)
- Xiao Long def. Quang Le via knockout (punch) – Round 3, 1:28
- Nikolas Motta def. Mahashate Hayisaer via unanimous decision (30-27, 30-27, 30-27)
